We carry our own history in our name: it often tells about our relatives, after whom we may be named, or about name trends in the year we were born. It speaks of our parents’ tastes and preferences, whether they liked novelty or tradition, the new or the old.

Surnames are even more important, because they hold so much information about whom we and our family are: they tell us about our relatives, ancient and new, they trace in letters centuries of relationships, love and affection. For the Italians of America, they may speak of a far away land, unknown and familiar all at once.